Editorial: Connecticut General Assembly should do something about packaging waste

Published
5:55 pm EST, Wednesday, January 6, 2016

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford, was joined last month by Branford’s waste management manager, Dan McGowan; Etta Hanlon, founder of Branford’s Holiday Recycling Program; and Tracy Camassar, owner of Chapman Manufacturing, a Durham manufacturer of tools and parts, to talk about the need to cut down on packaging materials used to ship online purchases. less

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford, was joined last month by Branford’s waste management manager, Dan McGowan; Etta Hanlon, founder of Branford’s Holiday Recycling Program; and Tracy Camassar, owner of Chapman Manufacturing, a Durham manufacturer of tools and parts, to talk about the need to cut down on packaging materials used to ship online purchases. less

Editorial: Connecticut General Assembly should do something about packaging waste

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Nutmeggers create a lot of solid waste and never is this more visible than during the gift-giving Christmas season that has been wrapped and boxed in commercialization.

But once Christmas is over, the gifts have been unwrapped, the toys and electronics unboxed, what’s left is the cleanup — and that means in many cases a lot of boxes, bubble wrap and other packaging that comes with the delivery of online purchases.

It also makes more challenging Connecticut’s goal to reduce solid waste 60 percent by 2024.

State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford, who is the Senate chairman of the legislative Environment Committee, wants to do something about it. He plans to introduce legislation in the next session that will cut down on waste and boost recycling of packaging materials used to ship online purchases.

It’s a good idea and the legislation can’t come soon enough.

More than 90 percent of the packaging that comes to residents’ doorsteps is thrown away and ends up in the state’s landfills, representing the largest amount of solid waste disposed of in municipalities throughout the state.

And the price of getting rid of all that waste is proving costly to taxpayers.

How costly? Consider Branford. Its residents shell out more than $1.5 million a year to ship approximately 1,000 tons of waste, which includes an additional 40 tons accumulated during the holidays. About one-third of that waste is consumer packaging.

Amazon alone shipped more than 1 billion items in 2015 and holiday shoppers from around the world ordered more than 23 million items from its sellers on Cyber Monday — up more than 40 percent from last year. As more people shop online, the waste will only increase.

One potential step, according to Kennedy, is to require that boxes used to ship purchases be no larger than necessary, or be made of recyclable materials. Kennedy has said he will explore working with the RecycleCT Foundation to expand its mission of increasing recycling to cover consumer packaging.

Kennedy suggests he may use what European countries are doing with their solid waste as a guide to develop ideas that Connecticut can use to not only cut down on the amount of packaging manufacturers use but also to reduce the cost to municipalities getting rid of it. He notes there are 15 countries in the European Union that now make shippers and packagers financially responsible for collecting and recycling consumer packaging, which has led to a significant decrease in the amount of packaging used when boxing or shipping a product.

But making shippers and packagers financially responsible presents potential problems as it could add to their costs, and consumers would likely foot the bill in the end.

A better idea is for the General Assembly to strongly consider a stewardship program for companies that are major contributors of packaging waste and offer incentives for adopting environmentally friendly practices. Similar stewardship programs have boosted the recycling of unwanted paints, mattresses, and electronics.

The General Assembly should take a closer look at packaging waste and consider all possibilities.

While Kennedy has yet to submit the details of his proposed legislation, it is hard to argue with a bill that will protect the environment, reduce cost to municipalities and ease the burden on taxpayers.